Vehicle-indicator.



J. G. KRAFT. VEHIGLE INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED T2319, 1913.

1,086,539, Patented Feb. 1.0, 19M.

' tain novel. features of construction, combinatitl ' lowing 'to be a full, clear, and exact descripthe vehicle is going to turn to the right or JOHN Gr. KRAFT, F SCRANTOIT, PENNSYLVANIA.

VEHICLE-INDICATOR.

Speerilcation of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb.1o,1914.

.Application led [February 19, 1913. Serial No. 749,465.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. KRAFT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Vehicle- Indicators; and l do hereby declare the foltion of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to Which it appertains to make and use the saine.

This invention comprehends improvements in vehicle indicators and relates more particularly to those which may be operated from the drivers seat to indicate in Which direction a turn is going to be made.

The primary object of tne invention resides in the provision of a device of this nature, which shall be of extremely simple construction, cheap to manufacture, and simple to operate.

Another and more specific object of the invention is to provide an indicator including a casing having sight openings therein, a pair of indicating plates adapted to be alternately moved before said openings, and means operated from the drivers seat for moving said plates so as to indicate Whether left.

rPhe invention also aims to generally improve devices oi' this nature, to render them more useful, reliable, and commercially desirable.

lVith these and other objects-in view, as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certioii, and arrangement of pai-ts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

For a complete understanding ot my inr vention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which, i

AFigure 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle indicator constructed in accori'lanee with my invention, the same being shown attached to a vehicle frame. Fig. is a View tal-:en on the plane of lino 2M? of Fig. l, Fig. Z5 is a vieiv taken on the plane of line. SMP ol Fig. Q, and, Fig. li-

a vieu' taken on the plane of line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings by numerals, 5 designates a portion ot' a motor vehicle frame, 6 the steering rod, and 7 thc steering Wheel. casing, generally desig,

nated 8, and having a hingedly secured rear Wall 9, is secured to the rear of the vehicle frame by any suitable means, such as the braces 10. The Tall Slis formed with a pair of sight openings 11 for a urpose to be hereinafter described, and a p ain glass plate 12 is secured in the rear of the openings by means of the anges 13.

A shaft 14 isjournaled through hangers 15 secured at suitable positions on the frame 5, and projects into the casin 8. A cross bar 16 is secured to the shat Within the casing 8 and has pivotally connected to its extremities the arms 17 and 18. These arms are biurcated, as shown in Fig. 3 to provide means whereby they may be pivotally connected to said cross bar in a convenient manner. indicating plates 19 and 20 are rigidly secured to the upper ends of the arms 17 and 18, respectively, and have suitable direction indicating symbols stamped therein, such as.

the oppositely pointing hands, clearly shown in Fig. 2. Guide pins 21 are secured to the rcarvwall of the casing and support the arms 17 and 18 'in an approximately vertical position. These pins project rearwardly through longitudinal slots 21 formed in the arms 17 and 18, as cle-arly shown in Fig. 2. A sheet 22 of suitable translucent material is secured to the vrear side of each of the indicating plates so as to cover the indicating openings stamped therein and make the same clearly visible in daylight. A col ored glass plate 23 is secured to the top Wall of the casing to the rear of the indicating plates and a suitable light, indicatedQLi, may' be secured within the casing so as to shine through the colored glass plate and the translucent sheets, Whereby the indicating characters will be clearly Visible at night.

An arcuate bevel gear 25 is rigidly secured to the forward end of the shaft 14 and meshes with a similar gear 2G Which latter is secured to the lower end of a rod Q7. The rod extends upwardly parallel to the steering shaft 6 and has an operating arm 9.8 secured to its upper extremity. The arm rides over :i segmental bracket 29 which is toi-med with three notches .30 in which the arm is adapted to seat. When the vehicle is moving in a straight line and a turn is not (.fonteinplated the arm 28 is.in engagement with the middle notch 30, at which time the direction indicating plates 19v and 2O are level with cach other Aand are below the openings 11 and therefore are invisible.

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When a turn 'is goingto be made to the ".right,vtl1'e arm 28 is moved from the middle notch to the rear notch 30, whereby the rod 27 is rotated so as to actnate the rod 14. The movement of the latter causes the cross piece 16 to project the plate 20 upwardly so that an indicating character stamped,r therein may be visible through the corresponding slot 11, as is shown in Fig. 2. When a turn iseontemplated to theleft the arm 28 is moved to the forward notch and a corresponding movement of the direction plates is produced. I

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it vill be seen that I have provided an extremely simple direction indicator, which may be applied to all of the common types of motor vehicles 110W in use, which may be easily seen either during the night or day and which may be conveniently operated by4 thedriver of the vehicle, whereby many collisions and accidents Will be avoided.

It is to be understood that While \I have shown and described the preferred ehxbodiment of my invention, I do not Wish to be limited to this exact construction, combination, and arrangement of parte, but may malte such changes as will fall Within the splrit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention,

what I claim is A vehicle indicator comprising a easing designed to be supported at the rear end of a vehicle, said casing having sight-openings disposed side by side in the rear Wall thereof,

Va rotatable rod projecting into said casing,

a cross-arm secured to said .rod Within the casing, a slotted arm pivotod to`each end kof said cross-arm, guide pins supported on 

